


Vampires Aren't Real

by LilLostLady



Category: Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: Betaed, Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Death, F/M, Half-Vampires, Killing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Romance, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14708468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilLostLady/pseuds/LilLostLady
Summary: When Lydia was eight years old she witnessed something unbelievable, years of therapy later and she knows one thing for sure that vampires are not real and moving to Santa Carla will not change her mind on the subject… or will it? Paul/OC





	1. Moving to the Murder Capital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *EDIT 10/28/18* Chapter beta'd by exaigon on Fanfiction.Net

"So, Lydia are you excited about the move?" The woman asked.

It can't be any worse than here, Lydia's mind supplies. Instead, she said with a shrug, "I'm not opposed to it."

The older of the two chuckled, "Surely, you have more to say on the subject?"

The girl furrowed her brow in thought. Did she have more to say... Yes, she did, but would she? No. There were some problems better left unvoiced. The teenager had learned that lesson the hard way. When she told her 'best friend' what happened or at least what Lydia had thought had happened.

The blonde girl learned from that mistake. Trusting someone completely would only come back to bite you. She nearly snorted at the thought. 'Bite me' that was a good one.

Focusing back on the therapist she decided on her words carefully but also made them seem casual, "Well I've heard there's a beach within walking distance so that might be fun."

Smiling, the therapist added, "I've heard that Santa Carla also has quite the nightlife for people your age."

She knew where this line of questioning was heading. The lady wasn't as subtle as she thought she was.

"Yeah... I don't really think that's my scene though."

Mrs. Sanders nodded as if she was actually listening and truly taking in what Lydia was saying. Truthfully, she stopped listening years ago… if she ever even did in the first place. Then again, she was one of the cheaper therapists around and, after having been bled dry by the others before, Lydia didn't care how good they were when she barely had food to eat because she was required to talk to them.

Yeah, not their fault but try explaining that to a hungry eleven-year-old girl back then. Even now she hated the fact that her family had to put out so much money on such a pointless thing… At least now it's finally over.

"Even so you should try new things... Unless there's a reason you don't want to."

It took her a minute to remember what they were talking about before replying, "No, there's not. I'll give it a go, but I don't see myself getting into it."

She really didn't… Her brother was the party-all-night type but not her. Maybe if things had been different she could have been but they weren't, so she wasn't.

"Well at least you can say that you tried." She patted the girl's hand leaving Lydia to feel like she was a pet more than a person, "Speaking of nightlife, how have your nightly walks been going?"

It took all she had not to roll her eyes. Yes, for years now she'd been 'recommended' to take nighttime walks. Really, who orders a kid afraid of the dark, or rather what's out there in the dark, to do that? Even years later it was still a requirement, but she supposed it did its job.

"Fine. I walk my mom's dog around the neighborhood like I usually do... Oh, I also went to that Halloween party since I last saw you."

Luckily, the sessions had been lessening to bi-monthly, mostly due to the lack of funds, but also because she was about to be given a clean bill of mental healthiness.

Which, in her opinion, should've happened years ago… Another reason she hated the women before her. Lydia knew she was just dragging this out to keep draining her mother of what little money they had left. Hence the move…

"Oh, that's good and how was it?"

Awful, unpleasant, dreadful, and all other adjectives that define something as terrible, her mental voice chimed in.

Aloud though, she answered, "It was alright I guess. I stayed until well after dark and I wasn't alone since Kim was there. Oh and I saw a few vampires too," she joked.

"You mean you saw people dressed up as vampires," the therapist stated like she was talking to a small child.

Even a small child would feel insulted talking with her. If you could call this one-sided conversation talking.

"Yes, that's what I meant." Her voice was calm and not at all sarcastic, unlike her thoughts.

Nodding again she jotted down something in her little notepad. Oh, how Lydia hated that thing and what she wouldn't give to tear it and all the other notes about her up. After a moment she asked the question that she always asked to end the session and for once the strawberry blonde girl was happy to answer it as she knew it was the last time she'd ever have to.

"Do you still believe in vampires, Lydia?" The woman asked eyeing her seriously while looking for any signs to tell her otherwise as the teenager spoke.

"No, I don't," she stated matter-of-factly, "vampires aren't real."

-

"There you are!" A rounded older woman exclaimed as she embraced her daughter. "The movers have already loaded everything. How was your last session?"

Not horrible given it was the last one That thought made her smile as she answered, "It was fine. Good. It was normal."

Her mother just nodded happily before a sad look took its place. "Did you say goodbye to Kim? Such a sweet girl."

Saying Kim was a sweet girl was like saying ice cream was sour and the sky was green with orange polka dots in it… meaning completely untrue. So, if Lydia wasn't already used to hearing such things about her supposed best friend, she would've had a tough time keeping her face straight just then.

"Yeah, I already did."

Her mom hugged her again. "I'm sorry we have to move during your senior year and so far away from your best friend."

Ex-best friend since she was nine… Never could get rid of the little leech until now. She couldn't follow them all the way to Santa Carla to ruin her life.

Pulling away from the hug she said, "It's not a big deal."

Actually, it was. Her school life, no social life in general, had been the thing of nightmares… Her own personal hell inside of what she was already dealing with since the moment she'd opened her big mouth and told her best friend that her brother had been killed by a vampire.

Of course, she knew better now, but at the time the shock of witnessing her brother's murder had messed with her head and that's what she got for trusting the little monster.

Kim never let it go, told everybody. All the students, teachers, her mother…

Kim was the reason for most of the therapy and its main focus being more on getting rid of her delusions than it was on helping her cope with her brother's murder.

Even now, years later in high school, Kim made sure everybody knew that she was the crazy kid who believed her brother was killed by vampires. She had played so many vampire pranks on her now that she was immune to them. Even the 'Carrie prank' she pulled with the pig's blood. Luckily, she avoided school dances so it was only a bucket thrown at her in the school hallway. Lydia had never been a fan of blood but being drenched in it gave her a kind of phobia of it. Even her own period freaked her out now.

So yeah, it was a big deal as in, despite the money issues and everything else, for the first time in a very long time Lydia was actually looking forward to something. That something being a real life, a fresh start where no one knew her as the crazy kid who believed in vampires.

"Lydia?" Her mother called snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry just thinking…"

Seeing the worried look appear on her mother's face, she decided to do what she does best, lie.

"I was thinking about spending New Years at our new home. I mean can you imagine the firework shows they probably have on the beach?"

Her mother smiled just a bit. The plump woman had a hard time not worrying, or just simply staying happy, for more than a moment.

One of the things that still made her happy though, was her baking hobby which was now going to be her job. That was much better for her than being in a stuffy office all the time even if the pay was less. Without her dream house to keep up payments on, she could do what she wanted. It wasn't like her mom got to enjoy the house when she was working all the time anyway, so this was a good thing.

She needed to remind her mom of that without reminding her of the house that, once upon a time, held four (but in recent years only had the two).

"I'm sure this will be a good move for us and those people at the bakery loved the pictures you sent them of your cupcakes. I'll bet you'll be racking in new customers for them in no time and probably even getting a raise."

The older woman chuckled and blushed, "Okay enough flattery. We need to get on the road so go grab your front seat bag. It's sitting just inside the door. Here's the key."

Lydia took the front door key with a smile.

"Make sure to lock it back up and then stick it under the 'welcome' mat. That's where I told them it'd be."

"'Kay," she called over her shoulder as the strawberry blonde went to get her bag.

-

"We're here Lydia. Wake up."

The girl groggily blinked her eyes open. "Car's still moving, though."

Her mom laughed, "I thought you'd like to see the sign welcoming us to our new home. There it is."

The teenager muttered under her breath, something that sounds like 'Just a stupid sign' to her mother, but still looked to where her mom pointed since she was awake now.

It looked pretty much like every other sign she'd ever seen but the back of it was interesting, or terrifying if true… The last thing Lydia wanted to see was another murder. No strike that. Last thing was not wanting to get murdered herself but preferably she'd like to avoid both if at all possible.

Noticing her mother's eyes looking forward she decided not to mention what was written on the back of the welcome sign. It wouldn't do her mom any good to think about it. She worried enough as could be seen by the age lines that made her nearly look twice her age. Grief and worry could do that apparently.

It wasn't even thirty minutes later that the two pulled into a small run-down neighborhood. It was nothing like where Lydia had grown up, with all the fresh paint and flowers. That was the place people with money lived, and once her parents had been those kinds of people, but with her dad's less than stellar dealings with money before his untimely death when she was only three years old, plus the therapy costs for nearly ten years now…

Yeah, it would take some time for her mother to adjust.

"It's got personality," Lydia cheerfully told her mother as they pulled into the cobbled path that was her new driveway.

"Personality… That's one way to think about it, I suppose." Her mom was like her in that they both always lived in nice neighborhoods with expensive homes. The only real difference was growing up her parents didn't have to worry about money or food. Sometimes those were a big issue for her so while her home was in a nice area, her clothes were not like the other students from her neighborhood and Lydia wasn't a stranger to skipping a meal or three to pay the water bill…

So really, this house represented her life for the last several years more so than the house her mom had been desperately clinging onto. Lydia knew she could adjust to the size and the less than pristine look so hopefully the same could be said for her mom.

It was a two-bedroom, one bath and a half, that was smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside which was saying something… But it was what they could afford and the only reason they could even do that is because some old cat lady had died in it recently.

The cat smell was driving Ms. Minnie, her mom's Pomeranian, crazy but Lydia was more worried about how not all of their stuff would fit. It's not like she herself had much; just clothes, some old photos, and a few personal knickknacks all of which should fit inside her room. No, it was the furniture she worried about.

They had a lot of furniture. While things had been sold before to help pay for things they needed, the furniture was never touched. Most were old and had been around since before she could remember. They were all in nice condition, the living room set, the dining room set, three-bedroom sets being hers, her mom's, and even Zacks…

"It won't take too long to clean up or be too time-consuming to keep that way. Oh, and if we have a yard sale it'll help us meet the neighbors."

Being positive like this was so not Lydia's thing but for her mother she tired. This time it didn't seem to work.

"I-I can't get rid of-of…" Her mother excused herself to the bathroom which meant only one thing… She was going in there to break down.

Hearing it was just as bad as seeing it but her mom didn't think like that.

Sighing, she picked up Ms. Minnie who was busy smelling everything. "Come on. Let's bring in the small stuff and leave Mom alone for now."

After a while her mom joined in and, besides the heavier things, they had gotten everything inside.

"Tomorrow the movers will arrive with the rest and help with the heavy lifting. I'm gonna go into town tonight and see if I can find a storage place to rent. Do you want to come?"

Lydia didn't want to burst her mom's bubble by telling her they likely couldn't afford to rent a storage unit big enough, if only because she didn't want her to cry again. Instead, she just shook her head.

"No, I think I'll stay here with Ms. Minnie tonight."

Her mother frowned, "Are you sure. What about the beach? I could drop you off before…" Her voice trailed off worriedly.

Lydia nearly sighed.

Being around her mom was tiring. She worried about her mother's depression and her mother worried about her closed off nature. It was a vicious cycle, one that hopefully would break soon.

"I guess I could look around while you're busy."

Her mother smiled slightly and they both got into the car along with Ms. Minnie.

-

Lydia, of course, got stuck with the dog. Unlike most of her walks with Ms. Minnie, this time she had to carry her otherwise she'd get lost amongst the people. Neither of them were used to so many people. Luckily, most were on the boardwalk, though the beach wasn't lacking them. It seemed that every which way she turned another group of people were partying.

If this is what it looked like during the winter, she couldn't imagine how packed it'd be come summer time.

Standing at the edge of the shore was nice. Lydia never spent much time at the beach before and this one, despite being loud, was quite lovely especially during the night. Tomorrow she'd have to come and see it during the day.

Ms. Minnie started to struggle in her arms. Up until this point she was the poised dog she usually was but suddenly all she wanted to do was get out of Lydia's arm. "No, I can't set you down." The dog was not hearing of it though and continued her bid to escape, "It's not safe here. You could drown or get stepped on!"

It wasn't like she didn't know her words were useless but, well, being the friendless teen she was, talking to her mom's dog came naturally.

"Ow, you bit me!" She screamed, and the dog jumped out of her loosened grip and bolted off. "Ms. Minnie wait!" The dog had never done that before. Being out of her element must have scared her. At least that was the only explanation Lydia could come up with.

Running across the sandy beach was not the easiest thing to do, not only because of the sand as mentioned but because she was not use to it. The dog, however, didn't seem to be hindered in the same way as she got further and further away.

It didn't take long to lose sight of her.

"Oh no. Mom's gonna flip out." Her mom loved the dog. She pretty much treated it like another kid… Yeah, losing that dog was not an option so Lydia set out in search for the missing Pomeranian.

The strawberry blonde was getting further and further from the partying and, other than the stars and the moonlight to guide her, there wasn't much light to see by. She resorted to calling out for Ms. Minnie. She had never given the dog's name much thought before but boy was it embarrassing to be yelling that out loud where so many people could hear you.

A short while later, the girl flopped down onto the beach. Any minute now she'd have to head back or be late meeting her mom, but the teenager just couldn't go back without the dog. Darn it. Why did she have to get talked into coming out here tonight.

Just then she heard loud music and turned her head towards the sound coming from just over a hill. It looked like another bonfire party was happening. Not too surprising, but this one was out a lot further than the others. Heaving out a sigh, she pulled herself back up and decided to ask them if they'd seen a small dog. It was her last shot really.

If they hadn't seen her then she'd head back and have to face the music and not the fun rock n' roll stuff that was playing just out of view either.

Once she got to the top, she noticed that the sound was louder. It wasn't just music anymore but was that screaming? The light from the fire confirms it too. There was a group of people screaming as another group ripped them apart.

Lydia's eyes widened, all thoughts of finding Ms. Minnie forgotten.

This scene was familiar, too familiar…

Like what she saw nearly ten years earlier.

It was vampires killing people.

Suddenly, the commotion stopped and so did the screams. The only sound was the music as those petrifying vampiric faces turn their gazes on her. She did the only thing she could do at that point.

Lydia shut her eyes and told herself over and over again what she's been told for the longest time.

If she heard it enough she'll believe it.

Inside her head and out loud she repeated, "Vampires aren't real. Vampires aren't real. Vampires aren't real…"

Several minutes of doing this helped to calm her down. Since nothing had happened to her yet she was convinced it was all in her head. Some kind of messed up delusion. When she did finally open her eyes, Lydia just saw darkness with no fire or even music for that matter... It was quiet. This further convinced the teen that it was, indeed, not real.

The only light came from the stars and moon.

Not wanting to stick around after her brief relapse of insanity she spun around only to run right into someone's chest and screamed.

"Hey, it's alright."

Looking up into his face she calmed down. He looked normal. Well, no, he looked hot from what she could see but the point was that he was human.

Long hair, taller than her with the lighting or lack of she couldn't tell exact colors, but his hair didn't look that dark. But of course, he was. Vampires didn't exist and what she saw just before wasn't real. She mentally scolded herself for even entertaining the thought that it was, however briefly.

"Sorry," she apologized with a blush and tried to step around him before he stopped her.

"Are you okay? You look kinda jumpy."

Lydia laughed a little, "Yeah… no, I'm fine. I just thought I saw… But it was nothing. Just my mind playing tricks on me. It wouldn't be the first time. I should go."

"Well how about I walk you back? This part of the beach is pretty deserted."

She nodded and the two of them started walking. "So why are you this far out alone?"

That was when she remembers and groaned, "I was looking for Ms. Minnie."

He raised an eyebrow, "Ms. Minnie?"

She flushed. Why didn't she just say a dog? "Uh yeah she's my mom's dog."

He chuckled, "Well now that I know your mom's dog's name, can I know yours?"

"Oh, I'm Lydia. What's your name?"

He smiled. "I'm Paul."

Lydia smiled back. "Nice to meet you."

Paul then proceeded to ask her about what happened with the dog, so she told him and after listening to her story he asked, "Do you want any help finding your mom's dog?"

She shook her head. "It must've happened well over an hour ago now so I don't think-"

Lydia stopped talking when a familiar barking was heard causing her to turn and see another boy holding Ms. Minnie.

Despite her earlier exhaustion from running across the sand she quickly jogged over to him and the dog, "You found her."

"Oh, is she yours?" He smiled and it's cute as is he, she vaguely noticed as she takes back the dog

"Yea," she responded before looking at the pomeranian, "Don't do that again." She addressed the boy who found her, "Thank you so much for finding her."

"No problem."

Paul walked up slowly, and Ms. Minnie started to growl at him.

"Ms. Minnie stop that." The Pomeranian didn't listen.

"It's fine," the boy in front of her laughed. "Animals like me unlike Paul here. They tend to go on attack mode whenever he's around." He glared at the other boy before looking towards the dog that seems to want to bite him.

"Sadly, that's true but hey, at least you found her."

Lydia nodded ruefully, "She's usually very friendly though, so I'm sorry for how she's acting."

"Like I said he's used to it. I could tell you a ton of stories with all of his animal mishaps over the years."

Paul grumbled, and she laughed before introducing herself, "I'm Lydia."

He grins, responding in kind, "Marko. It was nice meeting you and Ms. Minnie here." He reached out and scratched her behind the ear as he said it and the dog lapped it up turning friendly once more.

"Paul, Marko lets go." A voice called out in the distance but not so far that she couldn't make out some of his features as well as another guy standing silently beside him.

"Well that's us," Marko said and jogged backwards with a wave, "Bye!"

She waved to him and Paul nodded to her, "I hope to see you around Lydia."

"Me too. Bye." Saying that, Lydia headed for the boardwalk, off to meet with her mother. All the while, she kept a close eye on Ms. Minnie so she wouldn't think to try and run off again.

-

"So?" The boy's leader glanced to Paul while leaning against his bike, "It's like her thoughts said. She didn't believe what she saw."

"Yeah, she didn't recognize either of us. Heartbeat steady and not an ounce of fear on her." Marko chimed in. Paul nodded.

"Why did she say vampires specifically and not monsters or demons?" The dark haired one asked.

"That and the fact that she convinced herself that what she saw wasn't real are the only reasons she's still alive at the moment," their leader answered.

"Did you see how she closed her eyes?" Marko asked excitedly.

Paul shared his excitement. "Yeah that's a new one. It's either run, scream, freeze, or a mix of those. It's never close your eyes and pretend that it- that we don't exist."

"That's a childish way of thinking. That if you don't see something, that it can't see you," the platinum blonde said. "Still there's more to it than just childish thinking."

The dark haired one nodded his agreement.

They'd have to keep their eyes on this one.


	2. Introduction to the Boardwalk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *EDIT 10/28/18* Chapter beta'd by exaigon on Fanfiction.Net

"Where are you going?" A little girl in a baby blue nightgown asked.

A teenage boy who was halfway out the living room window made a shooing motion while saying, "Go back to bed."

She shook her head making her curly blonde hair fall into her face. "Take me with you."

"No," he told her stubbornly.

The little girl was just as stubborn as him though, so she threatened, "I'll tell mom."

He sighed, "You're such a brat... Fine come on."

She smiled brightly.

Red.

It was dark and red.

It was suddenly raining red. She was no longer blonde and her baby blue nightgown wasn't very blue anymore either.

Laughter. Someone was laughing?

Screaming? Who? Zack!? Hazel eyes widened as a horrifying fang filled face appeared before her. Then another and another.

She was surrounded! Where was Zack? Where was her brother!?

She tried to run only to trip over something… It was her brother; his face was frozen in fear.

He was red too.

A dog barked. Ms. Minnie? Her mom's dog ran by and her hands gripped the sand under her small body. The beach? Standing up, she looked out at the ocean. A sign flashed saying, 'Murder Capital of the World.' But it disappeared just as fast as it appeared and the scene was peaceful for a moment until the music and the screams started.

Looking around she found she was standing on a hill and still a little girl… and still covered in red… in blood, she finally noticed.

She tried to wipe it away fearfully, but her hands were also covered in it so it did nothing but smear it further.

The music and screams stopped.

Her eyes looked up into a terrifying face…

A vampire's face.

She screamed.

-

Lydia shot up in a panic and looked around, frantically eyeing her unfamiliar surroundings before realizing where she was; her new bedroom.

The teen was drenched in a cold sweat.

It was making her queasy. She had to tell herself that it was not blood while trying to stop her body from shaking as well.

"It was just a dream," the blonde told herself trying to calm down her rapid breaths while her heartbeat continued to run at, what felt like, a mile a minute.

"Just a nightmare... It's not real." Grasping her hands together she looked around her mostly empty room, "No it was... but it didn't happen like that. I didn't run from anything… I was hiding, not running. I was under a car, and it was a murderer, not vampires."

Taking a deep breath, she continued speaking aloud hoping to make herself feel better, "Ms. Minnie wasn't there. That was because of what happened last night... and remember, vampires aren't real... I was just seeing things. It was stress, the move, mom, a new school, not being able to find the dog… it all just got to me."

See? Everything had a perfectly logical explanation when you stopped and thought about it all the way through.

With that thought, she flopped back down and tried to close her eyes feeling exhausted and just wanting to go back to sleep; without the nightmares hopefully. But the second she started to relax, the sound of screams echoed inside of her mind startling her awake fully and causing her heart to pound painfully.

Lydia had not had that dream... no, that nightmare in a long time…

The move was messing with her more than she thought it would. First seeing things and now the nightmares…

The teenager was so sure she had moved passed all of this. Hopefully, it would settle down as soon as the move wasn't so fresh. If not, the girl had no idea what to do... One thing she did know though was that her mother would not be finding out about it no matter what... The last thing her poor mom needed was a mentally unstable daughter with everything else that was on her plate.

The next day was Sunday so Lydia didn't have to get up early and try her luck out at her new school just yet. Which was good because she was sure she looked like the walking dead...

That was a zombie reference not a vampire one, she thought before deciding to avoid referencing dead things all together.

Simply put, she was tired...

She'd maybe gotten four hours of sleep in and then tossed and turned, only to just doze off when her mom came and woke her up so they could have a bit of breakfast before they got to unpacking.

After nearly face planting into her cereal bowl and assuring her mom that she was okay, Lydia decided to go walk the beach to clear her head. It was bound to help her, going back to a place that appeared in her nightmare to show herself that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Maybe that would help to calm her nerves. Mentioning it to her mom made her smile and ask, "Do you want to take Ms. Minnie with you?"

Her immediate shout of 'no' startled her mother so she was quick to say, "I just think it'd be too much excitement for her after last night... All the people seemed to really stress her out."

If Lydia had her way that troublesome mutt would never set a paw on the beach again after the scare it gave her last night. Maybe if she hadn't taken off, Lydia wouldn't have gotten so spooked that she started seeing things.

"...Okay dear if you think so. She can help me start to unpack but don't stay gone too long. You need to help with that too." After saying that, her mom put her bowl in the sink. They had a box marked kitchen opened and had pulled out some dishes along with one of the few things of food they had, that being a box of cereal. Some grocery shopping was in the near future for them unless they wanted cereal for dinner as well.

"I won't be gone long. I'll just stretch my legs a bit and then head back." The ride to the boardwalk had been a short one so the walk to the beach, which was right off of the boardwalk, shouldn't take her very long.

Turned out the walk from her new home to the beach was a little over four miles and while she didn't mind the walk it meant that she couldn't spend as long on the beach if it took her just over another hour to walk back home.

That was already two hours which she could've been using to help her mom unpack.

Lydia sat down on the sand to give herself a small break and admire the waves.

Next time she walked the blonde knew she would need to make a day trip out of it to make the distance worth it. That or she could get a job and get a bicycle… t was faster than walking and cheaper than a car, so it was manageable.

After that thought, Lydia considered calling a cab so she could get home quicker but that would be both a phone booth fee and a cab… She should probably be wiser with the little pocket money she had managed to save up.

Like using it to buy food… or help pay for that bike.

Well, at least the trip did help to wake her up as well as help get her mind off of certain things. Sadly, other thoughts, or rather worries, just took their place.

After a few more seconds she got back to her feet and decided to head back home and to the many boxes she has to unpack. Besides her clothes and her old sleeping bag, her room was bare. Maybe decorating it would raise her spirits.

That evening she stayed home unpacking while her mom left to pick up enough food for the next few days. While unpacking, she thought back to the boys she met on the beach, Paul and his friend? Marko! Who had found Ms. Minnie. Part of her had been looking for them earlier at the beach but as she didn't get to stay long it didn't surprise her that she didn't see them.

Lydia shook her head. It wasn't likely she'd run into them again. The way they dressed meant they probably wouldn't be interested in hanging out with someone boring and plain like her. She might as well change her name to Jane... she was that uninteresting. Such a depressing thought but nevertheless true in her eyes.

Putting away her clothes just moments before proved that. Her clothes were boring. Once, as a child, she had preferred girly clothes but that was mostly because she wanted to wear what Kim did. Now, though, if it fit it worked.

Not exactly the best way to make a good first impression at school tomorrow, she told herself with a sigh. Maybe she could throw together something decent… or even do something with her hair.

Looking into her mirror that she had hanging on the back of her bedroom door, she lifted some strands of hair away from her head before letting it fall back hopelessly. Her hair was straight, no volume or style whatsoever… Not that she ever had a reason to try. But, of course, now that she wanted it she didn't know how as Lydia never paid any attention to that type of stuff.

She regretted that decision now.

It wasn't like she could afford to go to a salon either.

What could she do by herself? There must be something… Maybe she could at least give it some volume.

Maybe not curl it though… Her mom used to put those annoying curlers in it to give her the Shirley Temple look that her mom found, oh so, adorable. It was cute for a kid and that's why she would not be asking her mom for any help in that department.

Sighing, she decided to worry about it in the morning.

-

When morning came Lydia had had another restless night due to the nightmares that still plagued her. It was all she could do to just try to make herself look presentable enough for going into public. After throwing on an old band tee, not caring which band it was, and a pair of blue jeans she proceeded to hide the bags under her eyes with some makeup that she had just for this type of occasion. She'd made up her mind. She wasn't going to make a big deal about it. Whether she made friends or not, it was still bound to be loads better than her last school.

In the kitchen her mom had made toast having bought bread and successfully finding the toaster last night while unpacking. So Lydia munched on a piece and drank some orange juice, though she wasn't a fan of the latter. Her mom wanted her to have more vitamin D in her life so this was the best way to appease her aside from going outside and actually soaking it up and that sounded less appealing than drinking her orange juice did so... juice it was.

"Ready for your first day?" Her mom asked a few minutes later as the two of them got into the car.

"I guess. What about you? Don't you start working today?"

Her mother nodded happily, "Yes. Are you sure you'll be fine until I get off?"

Lydia refrained from rolling her eyes at her mother's worry. The bakery opened at seven, but her mom's hours happened to be from one until closing which was at ten. That meant that the blonde would either be grabbing a ride after school or walking… Most likely she was going to be walking.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'll probably just walk to the boardwalk and meet you at the bakery around ten."

Her mother glanced over. "You don't know where it is though."

Once more worry was present in her voice.

"I'll have plenty of time to find it. You just need to concentrate on showing off your amazing baked goodies to the world." Lydia smiled and then added, "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

The two arrived at the high school shortly after that and Lydia got out of the car while her mom rolled down the window and called out, "Bye, have a good first-day sweetie!"

She just waved back and tried to ignore the attention her mom put on her by the other arriving students.

Lydia didn't let it bother her, it was just her mom… and her mom was very good at her motherly skill to embarrass her children. Zack used to complain about it all the time. The blonde shoved that thought away not wanting to think about her brother during her first day of school.

If she had a total meltdown and saw something at school then she'd be back to being known as crazy. Having half a school year free of that couldn't be too much to ask for could it?

So far, the day had been normal, more so than she could ever recall. Lydia was eating lunch when some of her classmates approached her.

"Hey new girl," a blonde girl with much better hair than her own called before her and three others, two girls and a guy, flopped down on the outside bench with their own lunches.

The teen had decided to eat outside as opposed to in the cafeteria. It wasn't that she preferred a nice sunny picnic area. No, with her fair skin she'd likely burn if she stayed outside too long, but there were a lot fewer students out here and that's what made it appealing to her.

Lydia knew she'd have to eventually get used to not hiding away from people, but it was a hard habit to break.

"So, I'm Sarah," the girl from before said before pointing to the others and introducing them also, "this is my boyfriend Steven." He wasn't paying them much attention as he stuffed his face but he did wave a bit at the mention of his name. "That's Lizzy." Another blonde, but this one had enough volume in her hair to compensate for the whole school, let alone Lydia's own lack of it. "And she's Kimmie."

Lydia had to stop herself from cringing at the name. Great. Another Kim…

Honestly, though, it wasn't fair to judge someone based off of a name that someone else had and she knew that. But it still it kind of felt like the Kim back home was laughing at her and telling her she'd never get away from her. It was stupid… This Kim or Kimmie looked nothing like the other girl.

She was brunette while the other was blonde and the cut was different as Kim back home would never keep her hair above the waistline. This girl's hair wasn't even to her shoulders.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lydia."

The other girl, Lizzy, chimed in, "Nope you're new girl! We've not had any new students in ages, so you're stuck with it."

"…Guess I'll have to let my mom about the name change then," she joked which caused Sarah to erupt into a giggling fit for several minutes. It really wasn't that funny… or funny at all but whatever. Weird or not they were still talking to her.

Though, they might not have the best intentions in doing s. She couldn't be sure.

"This is a weird time to transfer. I mean two weeks and then we're out for Christmas break." Lizzie stated.

True, but try telling that to someone that's repossessing your house… They don't care and letting her miss two weeks of her final year wasn't something her mom was comfortable with.

"So, how long have you been here?" Kimmie asked before biting into an apple.

"My mom got a new job so that's why we had to move so suddenly. We only arrived over the weekend."

"That's not long. Have you been to the boardwalk yet?" Lizzie asked

"No not really. I walked through it a bit to get to the beach, but mostly I've just been unpacking." That said she finishes off her sandwich while Lizzie looks to Sarah.

"Well that just won't do," the other girl nodded her agreement.

"She's right. You need the full Santa Carla experience. What're you doing after school?" Sarah asked.

"…Going to the boardwalk to find the store my mom works at, then finding somewhere to do my homework."

"Nope!" Sarah chirped.

"Now you're going to the boardwalk with us and we're going to show you all the cool places. Then you can tell us where your mom works and we'll take you there."

Lydia raised an eyebrow at their pushiness, or rather Sarah's, but the rest of them seemed on board with it. Looked like she was the unofficial leader.

"And my homework?"

Lizzie laughed, "You do that at home!"

There was a silent 'duh' tacked on that almost had the new student rolling her eyes but she didn't. Even if she got home after ten it wasn't likely she'd get much sleep tonight either so why not stay up late doing homework. It might be the key to making her too tired to have nightmares.

"Okay, I guess it could be fun."

Sarah clapped, "That's the spirit!"

Just then the bell rang signaling lunch was over and the group split up for next period. Though not her and Kimmie. It seemed they have the same math together. Joy.

Lydia tried to remind herself that all people with the name Kim couldn't possibly be horrible, but she didn't quite succeed.

After school let out she waited outside with Steven who she had last period with.

"So where did you live before this?" He asked but she could tell it was out of boredom and not any real desire to know more about her.

"Nevada." That's why she didn't elaborate on her answer and he just nodded with a, "Cool."

His tone was about as interested as it was when he answered a question in their class together and by that she meant not at all interested. He was probably just waiting here because of Sarah. Lydia wasn't sure what the other saw in him... he seemed boring.

But then again she didn't really know him so maybe he was the life of the party outside of a school setting. Glancing at his zoned out face she thought maybe not.

Then they waited in silence for a few more minutes before the other girls appeared. For once she's glad to have the girl's chatter as the boy beside her didn't seem to care about her presence one way or another.

Lydia spent the next two hours walking around and going shop to shop, mostly boutiques and antique shops… It wasn't boring looking at things, but constantly telling the girls she was just going to browse and not buy was annoying.

"We'll bring you back tomorrow so bring some money with you then, okay?" Sarah told her and the teen didn't argue. She didn't want to waste the little she had saved up on something pointless, but did she really want them to know she was that broke?

All of them were just buying worthless things left and right. It was irritating, but not because they had money, because they seemed to expect everyone else to as well.

Eventually, she told them where her mom worked and the group went to the bakery. Mom was thrilled to see her and to see that she wasn't alone but didn't have time to talk. Instead, she offered to give Lydia and her friends a muffin. It was enough to tide her over until they got home and had dinner.

The group happily accepted and then mentioned going to go grab some dinner, which in turn had her mom giving her money to go eat out with her friends.

Lydia tried to quietly protest so her new maybe-friends wouldn't hear but her mom just shook her head and said, "Don't worry I have a job now." She didn't argue back that it doesn't pay much, not wanting to upset her mom, "So I can afford to give you money to eat out with your friends occasionally."

Reluctantly, she took the money.

It was just after six when they found a place to eat and, mostly, they talked about nothing in particular. Lydia wasn't used to having conversations like this. It wasn't overly fun, but it wasn't horrible. She didn't think she had anything in common with this group, but she was willing to try or to fake it, at least until school was over.

What came next she had no idea, but it was best to focus on the present.

-

By the time they finished eating they were just sitting around talking much to the annoyance of the waiters. It was close to eight o' clock and Lizzie told them she had to go home so Steven gave her a ride and said he'd come back to pick up the other girls later.

So it was just Lydia with Sarah, the pushy leader girl, and Kimmie, the girl with the unfortunate name. Hopefully, she'd get over that soon but at least the new student didn't think she treated Kimmie any differently than the others so that was something.

"Where to now?" Lydia asked and just as Sarah was about to speak bike engines filled the air.

"Not them again…" Sarah groaned and grabbed both girls' arms and backed them up.

"I don't get it, Sarah, they're so ho. How can you say that every time!?" Kimmie squealed.

Lydia just looks back and forth between them confused.

Sarah, still holding onto each of the girls' arms, huffed, "They nearly ran me over!"

Kimmie giggled, "Is that it. You're still not over that? It was like last year and, well, you weren't paying attention."

The girl glared in response, "Of course I'm still not over it! And why should I pay attention? I wasn't the one riding on those-those things!" The last part was said with enough distaste that the new girl immediately understood Sarah wasn't a motorcycle fan.

The two continued their argument but Lydia tuned them out as the sounds grew closer until they were right there. The bikes passed by them and Lydia caught sight of a familiar face. Two, in fact, from two nights earlier.

Paul and Marko. The others she'd seen only at a distance and didn't catch their names, but it was definitely them. Her eyes locked with Paul's for a minute and he smiled at her but then the group of bikers had passed and they were out of sight with only the sound of the bikes to let her know that they were ever there to begin with.

Did he really see her? Look at her? Was he smiling at her or was it just wishful thinking?

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a tug on her arm, "Oh come on not you too!" Sarah said and Lydia smartly replies with a 'huh?' Yeah totally using her brain for that response.

"I get that they're hot and all but don't be fooled! They're not your type or anyone's type-"

Kimmie snorted but Sarah continued to rant, "They don't care about anything. Certainly not if they run over someone with their stupid bikes," Wow she could hold a grudge. The blonde decided to remember that for future reference, "and did you see what they were wearing?"

Lydia's eyes drifted to Kimmie who shrugged as if used to this rant.

"They're no good. Anyone with eyes and a brain can see that!"

Not knowing how to deal with this, Lydia just nodded as if she agreed with everything the girl said. It seemed to appease her.

Still, Lydia kind of hoped that, bad news or not, Paul had been looking at her. Knowing her luck he'd just been glancing in her general direction and didn't even see her or worse didn't remember her.


	3. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *EDIT 12/20/18* Chapter beta'd by exaigon on Fanfiction.Net

Sarah hadn't stopped complaining about motorcycles or the boys on them, so Lydia really had no choice but to think of them after they rode away. Well, of Paul mostly, at least until Steven arrived close to nine to pick them up, much to the relief of Lydia's growing headache.

"So, you're really gonna wait around for another hour until your mom finishes her shift?" Sarah asked while standing outside of her boyfriend's car. Kimmie had already gotten into the back seat with a yawn and a quick 'bye'. As for Steven, he hadn't so much as left the driver's seat.

Lydia was pretty such he either didn't like her or was anti-social at this point. Or maybe he was just apathetic by nature?

Maybe that's why he and Sarah worked so well together. She talked, complained, and took charge of things and he just sort of went with it and didn't protest because he didn't care to or maybe it was too much trouble for him to bother… What a strange relationship. Not that she had any experience in such things but still, they didn't seem like the most normal couple there ever was.

The other girl raised a perfectly maintained eyebrow at her as if waiting for her response and it took a moment to remember what she asked. Lydia knew she needed to work on not zoning out and living within her own mind, but she wasn't used to having to talk to people aside from her mom.

"Yeah it's not too much longer. I'll probably just find somewhere to start on my homework."

The other girl frowned. Whether it was because of her answer or the time it took her to reply, she wasn't sure.

"You do know that people disappear from here like all the time, right?"

Lydia had seen the all the missing posters, so in a way she understood that must be the case. She just nodded, "Yeah I guess."

Her classmate shook her head. "Well then, if you aren't on the back of my milk carton when I have breakfast tomorrow I'll see you at school."

That must have been her way of saying goodbye because after that she got into the car and Lydia just watched as said car pulled away before mumbling to herself, "…Even if I did disappear tonight I wouldn't be on a milk carton that quickly."

Once the car was gone, the blonde looked around suddenly more paranoid than before because the parking lot didn't have a lot of light or people. With the thought of how easily people vanished in Santa Carla, the teen quickly left the area intent on finding somewhere with more people and a bench to do the homework that she had just mentioned to Sarah.

-

It didn't take Lydia long to find a bench and one not to far away from the bakery thankfully. So, she proceeded to take her book bag off and set it on the bench beside her so that she could rummage around for her homework.

Just as she was about to pull one of her assignments out, someone plopped down on the empty space beside her startling her.

"Hey girl with the dog named after a cartoon mouse!"

Dropping the papers back into her bag, she turned to see a familiar face. "Oh um, Marko?"

He grinned, "That's right. So, why are you just sitting around and not enjoying the boardwalk?"

"Well, seeing as I already walked it earlier, I thought I'd be productive now and start on my homework," she told him motioning to her school bag.

Marko made a face.

"Uck, homework keep it away!" He said dramatically and held up his hands as if to fend it off. Lydia just rolled her eyes.

He didn't look that much older than her so he must've done homework, at least until recently. Though, it wouldn't surprise her to find out that he was the type to not do homework if/when he was a student.

"Anyway, just do that later. I'm sure I can show you around much better than that group you were hanging out with earlier."

She raised an eyebrow. So he had seen her. She briefly wondered if Paul had as well before shoving the thought away to answer him, "You know some people care about their grades."

He looked scandalized at the thought. "You mean people with no life?"

"I mean people who want a future," she countered.

Funnily enough, despite making good grades, she had no plans for the future. Getting good grades had always seemed the way to go and it reassured her mother that she wouldn't end up as a fast food waitress for the rest of her life.

He snorted, "A future of what? Four more years of school? A desk job? Sounds awful… You're young now so might as well live it up while you can, yeah?"

"Is that what you do?" She asked genuinely curious.

He nodded and then another voice added, "Not just him."

It was Paul and he was behind her, but before she could turn to see him, he grabbed her bag.

"Hey!" She tried to snatch it back but he held it higher than she could reach causing her to stand up and face him. "That's not funny." She scowled at him fiercely with her hands on her hips.

"Marko's right. Come on, live a little."

"…If I say no will you give me my bag back?" She questioned, eyeing the bag and considering standing on the bench to give her an advantage height wise.

"Nope, I think I'll hold onto it until you have some fun. So what do you say?" He smiled and looked way too attractive doing so.

"Well seeing as you've taken my bookbag hostage I've got no choice, but I only have about forty-five minutes until my mom gets off work, so I need to be back at the bakery before then."

Marko pouted and mumbled something that sounded like 'homework' and 'bedtimes' but Paul just hummed, "Not nearly enough time to go anywhere," and looked thoughtful, all the while keeping her bag out of reach like he knew she was thinking about snatching it away when the chance presented itself.

"Well, that's all the time I've got so take it or leave it but give me back my bag in the meantime."

He smirked. "Alright I'll give it back, but on one condition."

She eyed him dubiously. "What's the condition?"

"A date."

She blinked unsure if she'd heard that correctly. She needed clarification. "A… date?" Her mind was fried and blown all at once which didn't make sense but neither did his words.

"Yeah." He leaned closer. "So how about it?"

Why was he asking her out? It didn't make any sense. Sure, she wasn't ugly but she wasn't all that pretty either, so why would someone like him be asking her on a date of all things? Was it a joke? A prank? She'd been asked out as a prank before but luckily, she saw right through it and said no.

What reason would he have to pull a joke like this on her though?

Finally, she just asked, "Why?"

He looked baffled as if no one has ever questioned him when he asked them out before. Which, now that she thought about it, was probably the case.

"Why am I asking you out?" He asked.

Marko snickered, "…Yeah, why are you?"

Paul's confusion slipped off of his face and his handsome grin was back. "Well when a guy wants to get to know a girl better he asks her on a date," came his cheeky explanation and then he added, "Plus you won't get to do your homework until you say yes."

"Is blackmail usually how you get your dates?" She doubted it but for some reason the idea of just agreeing to go out with him didn't sit well with her. It made her stomach feel funny. Was that what people called butterflies? If she said yes then she'd be admitting she liked him, or at least was interested, and, well, the very idea made her almost feel flustered and she didn't do flustered. No way.

Marko full out laughed at that and Paul smacked him with his free arm. "Nope. Only the stubborn ones who won't admit that they want to go out."

"…Get a lot of those do you?" She asked fighting a blush because dammit she would not give in to her embarrassment.

"Nope. And that's one of the reasons why you're so interesting!"

She cocked her head to the side, "One of them? What's the other?"

He smirked, "Fishing for compliments?"

This time the blush couldn't be held back. "No… just trying to figure out why you're asking me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

She had no response to that. Well okay, she did but it wasn't one that she'd say aloud. Though, around Paul it was almost easier to voice her actual thoughts than anybody else she'd ever met. Could that mean something?

"…Fine, I'll go." He cheered which made her laugh.

"Great, so tomorrow night?"

The funny feeling in her stomach changed then to something less fluttery, "Night?"

"Yeah, something wrong with that?" He asked curiously.

"No… but school lets out around three, so I could meet you at four or five instead."

Paul shook his head commenting, "The fun doesn't really start here until after the sun sets."

Right well, that made sense. But the unease lingered even as she answered, "Alright, so what time did you want to meet?"

"Nine sound good?"

She looked over at the bakery her mom worked at. "That would only give me about an hour until I'd have to leave."

Paul smacked Marko again when he snickered about 'bedtimes'. The curly blonde moved further out of his reach while sticking his tongue out at the other blonde.

"I could take you home, ever ridden a bike before?"

She shook her head sighing, "I haven't, but it's a school night so my mom wouldn't go for it."

"Mama's girl huh?" Marko asked while once again backing out of Paul's reach just in case he decided to hit him in response.

She stuck her tongue out at him before saying, "What if I am?"

Paul laughed, "Okay fine then. How about we meet up this weekend instead? No school the next day so your mom can't be too upset if you wanna stay out late."

It did sound better but at the same time Lydia had always rationed the amount of time spent outside at night to as few hours as possible. But maybe this could be good for her… the unease she felt had nothing to do with Paul. It was all her own fear of the night and things in it.

Really, she needed to move passed it and this seemed like as good a way as any to help herself move on. "Alright so same time?"

He nodded, "Nine this Saturday right here." He tossed her the backpack, which she'd just about forgotten about, and she caught it with a slight glare. He just grinned cheekily again and bounced off with a wave, "See you then!"

Marko followed him and also waved his goodbye. Then they were both gone but it didn't take long to hear the sounds of engines revving up. It could have been anyone, but her mind drifted to them as she squashed her backpack to her chest thinking about what just happened.

Lydia had a date.

Her eyes widened as it really and truly sunk in. She had a date.

Her very first date!

By the time her mother had walked out of the bakery, she was well on her way to having a full-blown panic attack because she had no idea how to date.

"Honey, what's wrong?" She hugged her daughter full of worry.

"I-I…"

Her mother moved back to look at her frightened face. "What is it?"

Her wrinkles were becoming increasingly prominent as her worry grabbed hold but Lydia was too freaked out to notice this as she blurted out her troubles, "I have a date!"

Suddenly all of the older woman's worries melted away and she laughed, "Oh darling, that's wonderful!"

The teenager gasped and shook her head, "No it's not!"

Her mom looked confused, "You mean you don't want to go on this date?"

She shook her head vigorously, "No, I mean, yes, I do, but I have no idea how a date works! Are there any books I can read?"

Once again the elder one laughed but Lydia still didn't see the humor in this.

"Lydia it's okay. Calm down. It's natural to feel nervous about your first date. Let's get home and you can tell me all about the lucky guy and I'll help you find something to wear. Oh, when is this date."

Lydia paled. "Something to wear? I didn't even think about that. What do you wear on a date? Oh man, I'm totally going to mess this all up," she wailed dramatically and the calmer of the two patted her back.

"There there it'll be okay. I'm sure you'll find something nice."

Nice and her wardrobe didn't go hand in hand. In fact, did she even own a dress that fit her? Wait, it was winter which wasn't dress weather and he mentioned his bike, so a dress wouldn't work anyway. So pants then… That was one less thing to worry about but still, a million more to go.

She never should've agreed even if he'd kept her schoolbag because this dating stuff was stressful. How was she going to deal with it for the next five days without losing her mind?

That night she told her mom the bare minimum about him along with a few white lies because she didn't know how old he was but he couldn't be that much older than her. So that wasn't a lie and she further endeared him to her by mentioning that Ms. Minnie had run from her on the beach only to be found by him and his friend which was how they met. Not one hundred percent accurate but it made for a nice story.

Then their encounter outside of the bakery, which did not involve him stealing her bookbag but him and his friend chatting with her before asking her out. All in all, it was an alright tell. Well, when she wasn't pausing to freak out about her upcoming date.

Afterward, focusing on her homework was a nightmare but by the time she was finally finished she was exhausted and didn't have any real nightmares that night. On the plus side, all this date drama seemed to have made her too tired to dream about vampires or the past.

Maybe the dating thing wasn't all bad.

-

In class, she had to push away thoughts of her upcoming date to focus but it was never far from her mind. During one of her break periods she found the library and checked out a few books about dating because there were actually books on the subject, who knew?

At lunch, she was slowly getting used to her maybe-friends and the fact that Sarah and Steven liked to make everyone at the table lose their appetite by randomly making out with one another at the table. One thing was for sure, she wasn't taking any of her dating tips from those two.

Her school week was over before she knew it and her schoolmates/friends were inviting her to a sleepover. As much as she wanted to turn down Sarah she had no real reason to. The sleepover was going to be Friday night so her mother enthusiastically helped her pack her overnight bag and sent her on her way, all the while thinking that moving here was a good thing for her daughter and wishing she'd done it sooner.

Lydia hoped her mom didn't think she was suddenly becoming a social butterfly because she didn't want to disappoint her. But if the thought kept her happy she wouldn't tell her otherwise.

That Friday at five o'clock she arrived at Sarah's house only to find that it reminded her of the houses in her old neighborhood. Frankly, it screamed 'I've got money look at me' but Lydia didn't want to judge her based on that fact… even if a part of her said that if Sarah knew about the rumors Kim had spread about her back at her old school she'd never set foot inside this house again.

Lydia was determined to have, if not a good night then at least an alright one, so she shook away her negative thoughts.

"Lydia, you're here!" Sarah exclaimed as she ran over to the girl still standing unsurely inside the front door where she had been since the woman who had answered opened it and shouted, 'Sarah' before walking away leaving her alone waiting.

Sarah hugged her tight and quick before releasing her, "You're the first one to show up but that's no surprise. The other girls would be late to their own funerals," she laughed and then proceeded to drag the unresisting girl up the stairs to her bedroom.

Her very pink bedroom. Not that pink was a bad color in moderation, but, wow, does the phrase 'less is more' not mean anything to this girl? Turning around and dropping her hand the girl exclaimed, "Well, what do you think? Awesome right?"

Honestly no.

"Yeah it's great." She smiled and sounded like she meant it. It looked like all that time with her therapist might not have been for nothing after all. Maybe she should consider taking up some acting classes in the future.

"I know right? The bed is imported from France of all places." Sarah ran her hands down the white bars of her canopy bed. At least it wasn't pink like the sheets and the walls and the carpet… Who had pink carpet anyhow?

"That's cool."

The girl rolled her eyes. "It's fabulous is what it is. But, oh, now that you're here we can totally get started on fixing you."

Her eye twitched but she politely asked, "Fixing me?"

Sarah nodded. "Right, I'm gonna do something about the rags your wearing," She points to the band tee-shirt and jeans, "Lizzy will take care of the mop on your head." Like hell she will Lydia almost shouted. Now she might've wanted some volume but that girl's hair was like some rock band gone horribly wrong so no she wasn't getting her hands on her hair it was not happening.

"Kimmie will do what she can with your face. She's great at makeup. Gonna go professional after school, in fact."

Lydia knew the other was insulting her, but she questioned if the other girl was aware of the fact or if that was just the way that she was.

Fortunately, Lydia had tough skin so the words hardly phased her, but they did cement the idea that these people, or Sarah at the very least, was just another Kim in waiting so she'd put up with tonight not to disappoint her mom After that, Lydia would distance herself from them and find reasons to not have any more slumber parties.

"So, what about this one?" She held up a bright yellow dress that burned Lydia's eyes as if it was the sun itself and the teen nearly grimaced.

"Do you have something a little less… bright." The girl huffed like it was an unreasonable demand before walking back into her closet. She came back with a pink one that was shorter but at least it wasn't bright…

Hours later she was dodging Lizzie's attempts at styling her hair and trying not to throw back equally hurtful barbs at Kimmie for her remarks about her face

It had been a long night but when it started to wind down it was the best part of the whole circus show because she got to sit back and watch the girls fawn over the John Travolta in Grease and sing off key which was funny. She barely resisted laughing out loud.

-

It was seven the next night and Lydia had all the clothes she owned splattered across her room and she still had no idea what to wear. She'd changed her mind many times over the week but one thing was for sure; whatever she wore would be loads better than the clothes she'd been in at this time yesterday.

Looking into the mirror, she noticed her hair was the same as ever because she'd, thankfully, kept Lizzie at bay and then somehow managed to do the same to her mom earlier. But time was running out and did her clothes really matter?

Sure, Paul's own clothes were nice but now that she thought about it she was pretty sure he was wearing the same clothes both times she saw him. Or at least very similar ones.

A knock on her door startled her from her thoughts.

"Lydia, can I come in?"

Lydia looked at the clothes tornado that was her room and nearly said 'no' but didn't so as not to hurt her mom's fragile feelings, "…Sure, mom."

Her mother entered and looked around. "Sweetie, I thought you decided on an outfit days ago?"

Lydia shrugged, "I did but… I changed my mind?"

It was more of a question than an answer.

The older woman carefully stepped around the clothes with great difficulty until she was standing behind her daughter who was staring at her full-length body mirror. "Well, what's wrong with what you're wearing now?"

Lydia blinked at her mother's reflection in the mirror. "What? These are just normal clothes. I wear stuff like this all the time."

Her mom smiled, "Exactly."

She didn't get it.

"I'm telling you to be yourself. He asked you out so he wants to date you, not someone who's dolled up and uncomfortable… As much as I'd like to doll you all up that's not you so let him know that. Besides, you'll have a better time if you go like this."

She stared at herself and her mom behind her and thought that she wasn't wrong but the dating books said-

"Oh and you don't need these either." Her mom held up said books.

"Wha-"

"I borrowed these while you were at your friend's house last night and the advice in here is absurd. You are more likely to have a bad date trying to recall the steps in these books and an even worse time if you do remember them and use them. Besides you don't need advice. You're just fine the way you are."

Lydia smiled tearfully before turning around to hug the shorter woman. "Thanks, mom."

"It's what I'm here for… but I'm also here to help you with your hair if you want it."

Lydia laughed, "Sure, go wild, but no Shirley Temple curls okay?"

The older woman giggled, "Deal."

-

It was a quarter 'til nine when her mom finished her hair and, overall, she didn't hate it. It didn't make her not look like herself. Instead of completely straight, it now had some wave to it and some of it was in a twistback. If this is what her mom thought of as wild then she wondered what tame would be.

"Thanks Mom. I love it."

The plump woman smiled, "I'm glad. Now, let's go. I'll drive you. It's too late to walk."

She agreed.

During the ride Mom asked, "So what time do you need me to pick you up?"

Lydia shrugged, "I don't know. How long do dates normally last?"

Her mom didn't have an answer. Not really. "It depends on what you'll be doing I suppose. So, what are you doing?"

She didn't know.

"Um going on some rides."

Her mom didn't question her uncertain answer but instead said, "Call me when it's over and I'll come to pick you up."

Lydia easily agreed, and the car lapsed into silence for the remainder of the ride.

Once they arrived outside of the bakery with some time to spare, her mom asked if she wanted her to wait with her. Lydia assured her she'd be fine and that she'd call her when she was ready to come home again and yes, she knew where the payphones were located and yes, she had the change to use them.

Reluctantly, her mom left and, almost as soon as she did, Lydia spotted Paul who, like she thought before, was sporting the same or a very similar outfit. She very much doubted that he'd even given a single thought to what he'd wear to their date tonight. But, then again, there was no way it was a first date for him.

"Hey, I'm not late, am I?" He asked as he spotted her.

"Well I don't have a watch, so I couldn't say," Lydia replied before asking, "So what exactly are we doing tonight?"

He grinned at the question and said, "It's a surprise." Then he proceeded to throw his arm around her shoulder and pull her close as they walk.

She'd tensed up slightly at first but relaxed when he started talking as they walked, "So what's your favorite movie?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Are we playing the twenty questions game?"

He looks down at her. "I've never heard of that movie."

She huffed, "Yeah me neither so I guess that's a yes. I'm not sure I have a favorite movie but if I had to pick one it'd probably be a comedy."

"Why comedy?"

She almost shrugged but since his arm is around her shoulders she just peered up at him and said, "Well I guess I like to laugh."

He smiled toothily. "Yeah laughter's good. So, favorite music?"

"Oh no you don't. I'm not answering that until you answer about your favorite movie." She wasn't about to let him be the only one learning things tonight.

"Hm, comedies are good but I'd have to choose a horror movie."

"Why horror?" She asked, and he looked at her with a smirk.

"Because I like to laugh." She didn't get it and he seemed to know that as he laughed and explained, "You know that stuff is fake and cheesy even. It's funny to point out all the unrealistic shit like the way the blood splatters totally fake-"

Lydia forced herself to relax after tensing at the mention of blood

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing… I just don't like blood," she paused before trying to laugh it off. "Guess I'm just squeamish."

"Hmm, well if you ever watch a horror movie with me I'll make sure to tell you when it's obviously fruit punch, tomato sauce, or...maybe it's corn syrup? Whatever." He shrugged, his arm shiting on her shoulders. "It's not hard to spot the difference really."

She smiled slightly before responding to his earlier inquiry with, "Pop music is my favorite," and a completely straight face. He looked aghast before she laughed, "I'm kidding obviously."

He grabbed his chest over his heart, "Don't joke about things like that! I totally thought I'd have to break up with you over your unrefined taste in music."

"Break up with me huh? That's a bold statement. After all this is just a date."

He winked at her. "It's never just a date with me."

She forced herself not to blush but she was sure her heart rate just rose. Before she could come up with an appropriate counter to that he said, "We're here."

She looked forward and saw the rides and carnival games.

"I bet I can beat you at any game here take your pick," he told her confidently.

She didn't tell him that she was sure he could given the fact that he'd lived here longer than her and was likely to have had practice whereas she hadn't. That still didn't mean she wouldn't do her best to try and beat him.

"Alright. Hm, how about that one?" She randomly pointed.

"Good choice. Come on."

Time flew by pretty fast with the two of them playing games -he was right, he wiped the floor with her at every game- and sometimes she pretended to be mad and challenge him to it one more time but really, she was just happy to spend time with him even if he kept winning.

"What in the world are you going to do with all those stuffed animals?"

He shrugged with his arms full of toys. "Guess I'll give them to Marko. He's always liked animals."

Lydia shook her head with a sigh.

"What about you. Do you have a stuffed animal collection?" He asked

"Not really. I did collect keychains once. I think I even have an unpacked box of them back home."

"Why'd you stop?"

"I'm not sure, I just did."

"Hmm well it's not a keychain but it's got a string," he chuckled pulling out one of the smaller stuffed animals, a white bear to be precise, and giving it to her.

"Thanks it's just what I needed to decorate my new room."

"No room would be complete without it," he agrees before adding, "You said before you've never ridden a bike?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Want to?"

"…Where would you put all of your new stuffed friends? I really doubt your bike has a basket?"

He looked at the pile of stuffed animals in his hands and then winked at her before bouncing off and handing them to random kids much to the amusement and displeasure of the various parents. Lydia stood there watching him for a bit before moving forward to take some of them from his arms to hand out herself.

It was a nice experience and it was over way too soon. Still, when she looked at him now, stuffed animal-less, she joked, "Poor Marko. You didn't save any for him."

"Ah well. He didn't deserve them anyhow." She giggled. "So, how about that ride?"

"Sure," Lydia agreed and followed him away from the lights and laughter to a quieter area where his bike was waiting. There were other bikes there too that she figured must belong to Marko and his other friends but they weren't around.

He got on and motioned for her to mount behind him. She did. Next, he made sure her feet were in the right area and told her to hold on tight, which she most certainly did. He revved the bike then next thing she knew they were off and the wind was blowing through her hair.

It occurred to her that her mom's hard work would probably go out the window but the wind in her face felt too nice to care

"Having fun?" He yelled and she called back with a, "Yeah!"

Paul laughed, "Want to go faster?"

He could go faster?

"Yes!" She screams into the night air and so he did.

They rode around for a while. First the streets around the boardwalk, then the cliff sides, and finally the beach where he eventually stopped and they get off. He helped her because her legs felt somewhat unsteady. Going from speeds she didn't know existed to a standstill was a bit jarring, but fun nonetheless.

"So, you having fun?" He asked as they sat down at the shore.

"Yeah, tonight's been great."

She looked up at the sky and watched the stars twinkle. There wasn't a single time tonight where she'd been afraid of being outside during the night, well, aside from the brief uncomfortable talk about blood but that had nothing to do with the night.

Paul was fun to be with and he took her mind off of things that scared her.

Lydia really wanted to spend more time with him. The teenager just had a feeling that he could help her move past some of her fears. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she knew she wasn't wrong.


	4. Christmas Break Starts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!  
> Beta'd by exaigon on Fanfiction.Net

Lydia didn't want the date to end but it was getting late and if she stayed out any longer her mother would probably start to worry if she wasn't already.

"We should probably head back to the boardwalk so I can call my mom." It was the last thing she wanted to do but it was the responsible thing, so she'd do it.

"What do you need to call her about?" Paul questioned.

"A ride home." She stated like it was obvious, but to him it wasn't.

He looked over at his bike in a conspicuous motion, "I've got you covered. No need to make your mom go outta her way. I'll drive you home, just point the way."

It was a nice offer and she would be able to spend more time with him but…

"Sorry but if I arrived home on the back of that thing," she motioned in the general direction of his bike, "my mom would probably have a coronary."

"…What's wrong with simply saying a heart attack like normal people and my bike isn't a thing," he pouted.

"Sorry if I'm too sophisticated for you," Lydia giggled and asked jokingly, "should I apologize to your bike too?"

Paul nodded solemnly before cracking a smile, unable to keep up his serious act making her laugh too. Once the laughter trailed off he stated, "You're a considerate daughter."

"Are you making fun of me now too?" The girl was referring to when Marko made his 'Mama's girl' comment a few days ago.

He seemed to get that and shook his head, "No I wasn't. It must be nice to have a parent that you're close to."

Lydia stared at him and wondered if he wasn't close to his but decided against asking something so personal so soon. "I guess. I mean Mom's all I have and, well, vice versa I suppose…" The girl trailed off not knowing how else to continue.

Taking note of this Paul stood up and changed the subject, "Well we wouldn't want to give her a coronary, so we should get you home soon." He extended a hand to help her up and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet as well.

"You mean get me to a phone don't you?" She questioned and he shook his head.

"Nah I'll drop you off without her noticing my bike."

"And how are you going to accomplish that? If you haven't noticed, it's not the quietest of transportations."

"One of the many good things about it."

"If you say so."

"I do. But since we need to do a stealth mission, I'll just stop it a little ways away from your house and walk you the rest of the wak. Does that work?"

"I wouldn't want you to go out of your way," she told him.

"Better me than your mom, right?" He joked before quickly adding, "Just agree already. It's an excuse to spend more time with you." He winked making a slight blush spread across her cheeks, "and I can play the part of the gentleman walking you to your door. That's not a role I get very often. It could be funt" the boy pleaded with his hands in a prayer grasp and pouting bottom lip for extra effect.

It served to push away her embarrassment at his earlier words because he was just being so silly that she had to laugh at him, "Okay alright." Lydia hid her laughter behind her hand trying to calm down, "let's do this your way. Just stop making that face, it's beyond ridiculous."

He grinned in response, "Great. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road then."

His hand found hers as he all but dragged her excitedly to his motorcycle before letting go to mount his bike and then offered her a hand to help her hop on behind him once he was settled.

Gratefully taking his help, she got comfortable and then they were off and she briefly wondered if the windswept hair would clue her mom in on what her transportation was. She pushed the thought away to enjoy the ride and laughed at Paul's silly behavior as he yelled and pretended he was on a roller-coaster or something of the sort.

It amazed her that he could both be silly and make her laugh so easily one moment and then the next have her face aflame with his sexiness and flirty personality.

It was hardly fair because in comparison what could she bring to the table? She wasn't overly dull to converse with, but she didn't think of herself as funny either. Maybe she had a bit of wit at times? Did that count as a positive? For him it might.

As for her physical appeal, did she really have any? Probably not. But when she tried she could look decent enough.

Still, it was a mystery to her as to why he was on this date with her.

Sure, she wasn't ugly but clearly he could get someone much prettier than her without too much effort. The date didn't seem like a pity date but what would she know about that kind of thing given that this was her first date?

Maybe he didn't like girly girls? Too much maintenance... she could be onto something there. The reasoning didn't really matter though. The date was nearly over and well, that would be that, wouldn't it?

It would still be a good memory even if he didn't ask her out again. Before she was able to think more about it his voice reached her ears, "Which way?"

Lydia looked at their surroundings before giving him directions and this continued every time they needed to take a turn. Before long she was telling him to stop.

"Yeah, here's good. I can walk from here."

"You mean we can," Paul corrected her as they both dismounted his bike.

"It's not that far you don't have to-"

He cut her off, "I don't but I want to. Remember? I'm playing the gentlemen right now," he reminded her.

She shook her head fondly, "You sure it's only an act?"

He chuckled and snatched her hand up as they walked.

"Definitely sure." He brought their intertwined hands up and kissed the back of hers making her face flush. "I'm doing a good job right?" Paul asked with a wink.

Lydia turned her head away from his, now smug, look. To get back at him for the embarrassment she replied with, "Perfectly princely."

He gagged at the words and quickly dropped her hand in a dramatic fashion. "Oh no. How ever will my image recover?"

The blush faded enough at his antics for her to look back at him and tease, "What image was that again?"

"Isn't it obvious? My badass biker dude one!" His confidence in those words was adorable.

"Hm, well…" She paused and looked thoughtful, "you do have a bike, I'll give you that one."

"You don't think I'm badass?" He asked aghast.

"Um… not really no, but that's okay because you're really sweet." Not that it wasn't true but now she was just teasing him and both of them knew it even without her emphasis on the words.

"Don't say that to the guys. They'll make fun of me for an eternity," he bemoaned.

Lydia grinned at the mental image of them ribbing him before speaking, "Oh, don't exaggerate."

"I'm really not." Paul told her before asking, "That your place up ahead?"

His question distracted her from possibly further analyzing his words, "Yeah that's it. Cozy, huh?" Lydia answered for him, "It's only the two of us so it doesn't have to be any bigger."

Paul nodded, "Yeah though, I think you meant it's the three of you."

Lydia glanced his way confused, "Three?"

"You can't forget Mrs. Minnie. I know I certainly won't seeing as how, given the chance, she'd like to murder me."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Of course you're right. Though, I think you must've caught her on a bad day. She's really not the type to try and murder anyone."

"You never know… the sweet ones can surprise you." His grin was sharp, but she just looked amused, "Is that your way of warning me about you?"

"Maybe."

"So, do you plan to murder me then?"

"Not right now."

"Oh well that's good, what with Christmas just around the corner it would be a terrible time to get killed."

"You're absolutely right I'll wait until after Christmas."

"How thoughtful. Well I guess I'll just have to keep my guard up."

"Sounds like the safe thing to do. Oh, but only after Christmas as I wouldn't be so rude as to kill you before then."

She nodded and then they both laughed at the absurdity of their conversation and that was when the porch light turned on. Lydia didn't even notice how close they'd gotten, too busy talking to her date.

"Well I should get inside before my mom comes out here. Good night." Lydia's hand grabbed the door knob as she searched for her key.

"What no good night kiss?"

Turning her head, she used the hand now housing her key to blow him a kiss. "There you go, happy?"

Paul shook his head, "Not in the slightest. Being a gentleman sucks so I'm totally gonna stop now."

That was all the warning Lydia received before his hand grabbed ahold of hers that had just teasingly blew a kiss to him and pulled her away from the door into him. His other hand cupped her cheek and he swiftly bringing his face down to hers.

Paul's lips brush hers and then pressed a bit more firmly before pulling back and taking in her stunned expression.

He grinned, "I'm gonna do that again, so you can respond this time."

Lydia just blinked speechlessly before he did as warned and kissed her again. Her brain went from stunned to a pile of mush because he was kissing her; her first kiss.

No, her second one.

And being a passive participant was not the way she wanted to experience this, so she did as he suggested and responded. It was hard to focus on anything aside from the feeling of his lips against her own. She managed, whether by some instinct or by copying his movements it didn't matter, because she did it. He clearly knew what he was doing so her own inexperience didn't make it horrible.

Paul pulled back again with a smirk. "We should go out again." Lydia nodded dumbfounded, "Sometime soon."

She nodded again, having still not regained her voice to her date's obvious delight.

Just then the door opened and her mother's head peered out, "Lydia?"

The girl in question all but jumped back from the biker and struggled not to look abashed or guilty in the older woman's presence. But she could tell from the look on her mom's face she knew something just happened.

Thankfully, she didn't decide to embarrass her and just smiled at the both of them, "It's late Lydia."

The girl nodded once more and suddenly wondered when she became a bobble head and forced herself to speak then, "Right. Goodnight Paul… See you later?"

Lydia's unsure of why it came out as a question instead of a statement. He'd already asked her out again and kissed her so the fact that she would see him later was pretty much a given, right?

"You bet. Good night Lydia." He winked her way and she didn't bother to fight the blush before ducking her head and hurrying inside past her mom.

"Good night to you too ma'am." He told his date's mother who was still on the porch watching in amusement at her daughter's fleeing form.

"Good night and nice to meet you as well, Paul, was it?"

"Yes ma'am." The boy smiled at her winningly, "I had a lovely time with your daughter tonight, now that we've met. I can see a lot of you in her. I'll wager that she got some of that wonderful personality from you as well."

"Well aren't you a charmer," She giggled before continuing, "I wasn't expecting you to drive her home. Our house is a bit out of the way, but I do appreciate it."

"It was no trouble. Better I went out of my way than you. Besides I've lived here a while, so I know all the shortcuts. I'll be home in no time," he assured her inner worries about his late night driving.

"That's good but you be careful. They're aren't enough lights out around here."

"I'll be extra careful, promise." That said he bid his goodbye with a kiss to her hand, making the older woman flush, before taking his leave.

She watched him for a moment and pondered where his car was at before a voice from inside distracted her, "Mom?"

Lydia was once again calm enough to realize that she'd left her date on the porch with her mother and that her mom was still outside. So, she called out and was both nervous and relieved to see her come back inside.

"Well how was it. Tell me all about it?" Her mother gushed and suddenly Lydia wondered which of them was the teenager.

"It was… fun. We rode some rides and played some games. Oh, and he won me this." She pulled out the tiny bear from her jacket pocket by the loop on it's head, "I could probably pull out an old cork board and hang it like I used to with my keychains or something."

Her mom smiled, "I can't believe my daughter's all grown up and has her first boyfriend."

Lydia's face flamed back up, "He's not… I mean it was just a date."

That's when Paul's words from earlier came to mind, "It's never just a date with me."

But what did they mean? Were they dating now? Was she his girlfriend…? "I-I'll have to clarify that with him next time we talk," she mumbled and fiddled with the stuffed bear to give her something to do with her hands.

Her mother smiled knowingly, "You do that." She patted her daughter's fidgeting hands. "You have all next week to do it."

Lydia tilted her head, "Next week?"

"Did you forget you only have one more week until winter break?" The woman asked.

"No, no I didn't forget but why-" That's when it dawned on her. Her mother thought Paul was a student at her school. She'd pretty much said the same thing once before but Lydia didn't want to correct her.

Even though she was eighteen her mother wouldn't approve of her dating someone who already graduated… or was possibly a dropout. She never did ask, nor did she know his exact age either. In their twenty question games she didn't really find out all that much about him.

So, what did she know?

She knew his name… well his first name, knew that he wasn't a student, that he liked horror movies, that he could be funny and sweet, was a good kisser- Wait, should that count? He was also a biker that was possibly part of a biker gang, he only liked to come out at night when things were lively, and that Mrs. Minnie had it out for him. Despite what she had said, she could tell her mom's dog wasn't just PMSing.

Wow, that wasn't a lot of information.

But if he really was her boyfriend then she would just have to change that.

"Lydia?"

Her mom's questioning tone pulled her out of her thoughts and made her realize she'd zoned out. She really needed to work on that. "Sorry mom. Just tired. Can we talk more tomorrow?"

"Sure sweetie. Good night." She hugged the younger girl and got a tight squeeze in response.

"Night."

-

That school week dragged by and it was mostly due to her school-friends and their attempts to pull her into things; girly things and things that cost more money than she had making her feel bad about not having the money to do anything or join in. All in all, she tried, and mostly failed, to spend the week avoiding them. At least they didn't know where her house was even if they did know where her mom worked.

She debated letting them see her with Paul but didn't know if it was worth the drama in school. Once the new girl phase was over, surely, they'd leave her alone, right?

As for Paul, Lydia sadly sees very little of the night owl that week given that she, as Marko once again mocked, had a bedtime. Not really but she may as well of had one. During the one real conversation she had with Paul alone, she did ask him if they were dating but she got a non-answer and it left her feeling unsure of where they stood even though, in the same conversation, he invited her to hang out with his friends at a bonfire once the break started.

She agreed.

Then Lydia pulled an avoidance tactic herself when her 'friends' asked her about her winter plans and basically told her she'd be hanging out with them. The blonde didn't agree to it so if they waited for her to show and she didn't, it wasn't her fault.

The teenager sighed as she put down her pencil and stretched. It was the last test; her midterm finals were done. Gathering her things, she quietly stood up and dropped off her paper at the teacher's desk, who didn't so much as look up from whatever he was doing, and left the room.

Getting out as soon as she finished her test meant she could avoid the others who were still taking their own or had other classes they hadn't yet taken. Lydia was just lucky that Friday only had one class to sit through a test for.

Looking at the clock in the hallway on her way out read half past nine meaning she had only been at school for and hour and a half today. If only every day could be like that, she thought happily before leisurely walking to the boardwalk.

Lydia spent the day wandering around and going into places she had yet to check out and then relaxing on the beach before meeting her mom and letting her know how her test went and getting a muffin Then she left the older woman to her work and wandered around some more until her mom got off work.

In a way, she wanted to see Paul that night before her mom got off but, in the end, it was probably a good thing that she went home before that happened because spending all day walking around after straining her brain that morning left her exhausted and if Paul had found her, she would've likely fell asleep on him.

While some might think that seem romantic, she was positive she'd do something embarrassing like drool on him or have a nightmare.

The next day, Lydia woke up late because it was both the weekend and her holiday. In her fuzzy pjs, which were way too warm for this state even in the winter, she grabbed a bowl of cereal along with Mrs. Minnie and curled up on the couch turning on the TV in search of cartoons.

Eventually she had to change into something more weather appropriate, but it was still sleep wear and she went right back to cuddling the Pomeranian and pretty much using her as her own personal fluffy pillow at one point, before her mother came home and scolded her for being lazy all day.

As her mother had left before she got out of bed the only time she had spoken with her was a brief call to ask her if she could go to the boardwalk tonight and since her mother knew about her plans with her friends, though not which friends, prior she had told her daughter that she remembered and would drive her there after work.

But when she arrived home Lydia wasn't ready at all. The girl sheepishly apologized and rushed off to shower and get ready.

In a record time of half an hour she was ready and her mother dropped her off.

"Call me and I'll-"

Lydia waved her off, "That's okay mom I can get a ride home."

"But it's so dark on our road-"

"Paul's a good driver." Okay that wasn't exactly true. He took way more risks than was probably necessary but if it hadn't killed him yet then hopefully his luck would hold out for one more night.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that he'd be at the bonfire…" Her mother said watching her daughter's face closely.

"Er, yeah everyone is…" Once again not being specific about who everyone was, she only felt a tad guilty.

"Okay, I know I don't have to tell you to be careful… you always are…" She trailed off lost in thought.

Lydia had a feeling she knew where her mind was headed, to her brother. To Zack.

He partied and snuck out and was generally reckless and she was worried about her daughter going down the same path and ending up dead too. Even though they both knew that was not going to happen because Lydia wasn't Zack.

"I'll be careful I promise, love you mom." She hugged the other woman, who responded in turn to her declaration with a quick squeeze, and let go before she could think to latch on and prolong the hug.

"Right, of course. You're surrounded by a bunch of good teenagers, a bit rowdy with questionable wardrobes, but it's safe…" She convinced herself and waved her daughter off with a smile, albeit somewhat forced.

Walking down the beach, Lydia spotted several bonfires but none with Paul at them so she wandered around and hoped that either she'd find them, or they'd find her. The latter happened mere minutes after she thought that.

Paul grabbed her around the waist from behind and started talking immediately after so that she knew it was him and not to panic, "You're finally here! I wasn't sure you were going to come."

"I said I would. I just had to wait for my mom to get off work," she told him as he loosened his hold on her waist and she turned to face him,

"In that case next time I'll just pick you up." With that settled, he let her go completely but before she could miss his touch he grabbed her hand and started to pull her along to where his bonfire was at.

It was a bit farther than she'd thought given that he suddenly happened upon her. He must've been looking for her then? She squeezed his hand tighter at the thought.

When the two arrived she was greeted by her first real look at his friends aside from Marko who she'd grown familiar enough with given their frequent run ins and all his good natured teasing.

If she had any doubt of him possibly being part of a bike gang it was gone now. Sure Paul and Marko themselves wouldn't be a red flag but the other two added into the mix... yeah, that's what they were.

"That's David." He motioned to the relaxed bleach blond wearing nothing but leather from the looks of it and then over to the only dark haired one of the group, "and that's Dwayne."

Her first thought was, 'Why isn't he wearing a shirt because, California or not, it was still winter and nights could get kinda chilly.'

"Hey what about me!?" Marko shouted piqued.

"What about you?" Paul asked.

"Introduce me too," he complained.

She laughed, "Like I could forget you."

He puffed up at that.

"Tom, right?" She joked trying to keep a straight face but failing.

"Tom!? Do I look like a Tom?" He asked the group only to get amused looks and responses in return, "That's it! She's gotta go shoo, shoo." He made shooing motions with his hand and Paul sat down next to him pulling Lydia down as well before smacking his 'shooing' hand. To which the boy continued to be a drama queen about how they were picking on him.

Before long David shut him up by telling him to go grab them all some food, to which he promptly got up and did without any complaints.

While Marko was gone on a food drive, they talked about normal things; their bikes, the boardwalk, music, movies. At the mention of movies David's eyes drift to Paul's before he conversationally suggested that they all go see a movie. "I think there's one about vampires on right now."

Lydia had been leaning against Paul, so at the mention of vampires he felt her stiffen up. Even David and Dwayne could see the tenseness that suddenly appeared.

"She doesn't like horror movies."

"Oh, is that so?" David asked, and she forces herself to relax."

"Yeah…"

"A romance fan then?" Dwayne's words settle her nerves slightly more.

"It's alright but comedy preferably."

"Hm, is it all horror or just certain genres of it?"

Her eyes drifted back over to David and she could feel his own stare. It was like they were judging her soul or something. It was not a comfortable feeling, "Well I guess if it's mainly a mystery who-done-it type of thing or something that doesn't focus on… the blood and gore part, then it's alright."

David nods, "I see. Vampires are out of the question then."

She tried really hard not to respond to the word. Why couldn't she act like it was no big deal? She had been doing so for years with her counselor, why couldn't she now? Maybe because she expected it to come up in sessions, or maybe it was that night where she thought she saw… no she wasn't going to think about it.

It wasn't real. She wasn't a little girl anymore; overactive imagination and traumatic events were a thing of her past not her present. She was so done with vampires.

"Yeah… no vampire… movies for me thanks." Lydia's eyes finally looked away from his and right then Marko showed up with food and she could kiss the guy for his perfect timing.

Paul stuck out his leg and tripped him causing Marko to nearly drop the food, if it wasn't for both his and Dwayne's quick thinking.

David looked amused, but Marko didn't as he set the food aside to tackle her date, it was bizarre seeing two practically fully-grown men wrestling in the sand beside her.

But it was funny as well, so she watched and laughed at them while helping herself to some food. It made her forget her earlier discomfort around David and his line of questioning.

David, though, didn't forget and was mulling over her thoughts and putting certain things together whereas Paul only seemed to pick up on her thought about kissing Marko.


	5. Unwelcomed Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd once again by exaigon on Fanfiction.Net

Lydia had spent the day unboxing and putting up Christmas decorations with her mother who, for once, didn't have to work that day.

"Are you meeting with those friends of yours again tonight?" Her mother asked after straightening the handmade wreath on the front door for the third time.

"Yeah, we're going to meet up at the arcade," Lydia said while placing the red candle in the center of the living room's coffee table. Her mother loved candles and had very specific ones set aside for Christmas.

"Oh, well, couldn't you do that during the day?"

Lydia looked around for the perfect place to set the next candle, a green pine scented one to make up for their lack of a tree this year, as she answered, "Sure, I guess so."

"Well, why don't you?"

Lydia did not have a good answer for that, "Um, because all the kids around here prefer the boardwalk after dark. I dunno."

She heard a sigh. "Can you at least suggest spending some days out instead of nights?"

"Sure mom."

That seemed to make her mom happy and it wasn't as if Lydia hadn't noticed how the older woman was both thrilled at her new socialness and scared of the hours she was keeping lately.

School had only been out for a week now, but every night Lydia was out, and it made her somewhat guilty when faced with her mom's worry. But at the same time it felt freeing to not be scared of being out at night and for the first time in a very long time Lydia was having fun.

But she would see what she could do about at least spending a few days a week out during the actual day.

Later that evening her mother dropped her off near the arcade, but not before telling her to not be out too late as she had a surprise for her tonight.

"We still have three days until Christmas though," Lydia said puzzled.

"I know but trust me, you'll like this surprise. So, no one o'clock in the morning tonight missy."

She gave her daughter her best stern look which made the younger girl laugh but answer with a simple, "Okay mom."

It wasn't too much later that Paul and Marko showed up and when she asked about David and Dwayne, they told her that the two of them were grabbing a bite to eat first.

So that was how the three of them ended up playing Rampage for the first part of the night. Before long the other boys showed up and they all started playing various games. Sometimes, Lydia would watch as two of the boys challenged one another or just hung out and chat with one of the other guys. They even had a bet going at one point over who would take home the crown and be the Pac-Man king.

Marko won that one much to Paul's frustration.

After spending way too many coins, both her and Paul had settled on watching Marko getting creamed at Donkey Kong. For some reason he was really bad at it.

"I'm telling you it's the machine not me!" He cried out as he once again lost and Paul laughed, "Sure it is."

Lydia smiled but held back her laughter at Marko's pout.

As he tried with a dramatic cry of 'one more time' and 'this time I'll win for sure' Lydia turned to Paul. He never gave her a straight answer about if they were boyfriend and girlfriend when she asked and that had bothered her at first but she was beginning to think maybe he just didn't like the label?

At least that was her hope anyway.

"Hey Paul?" She asked and he simply said, "Hmm?" His eyes never left Marko's struggling form. He was obviously finding joy in the other blonde's failure; possibly more so because of his own loss at Pac-Man.

"We should all hang out during the day sometime."

That got his attention and he turned to look at her before asking, "Why?"

Lydia shrugged. "Why not?"

"There's nothing fun to do before the sun goes down."

He turned back to Marko as if the conversation was over, but Lydia wasn't finished yet, "The arcade is open then."

"It's open now too, the day hasn't gotten anything the night doesn't." At this point David came over from wherever he'd been and stood next to Paul looking at the two of them for a moment and then to Marko.

Lydia didn't pay the mullet wearing blonde any mind and countered with, "During the day it's warm enough to go swimming even in the winter."

"True but that means putting up with surf nazis everywhere you turn," David added distastefully.

A couple nights after her first date she had a run in with the so-called surf nazis and they tried to warn her away from Paul and the others as they had seen her on her date. Obviously, she didn't listen but that wasn't the only time she had heard the animosity between them, so it was a valid reason the girl supposed.

She'd rather avoid any fights breaking out again because, although Paul was okay, she didn't like seeing him get punched in the face even if he gave it as good as he got and smiled like a loon all the while.

That night she thought Marko was a terrible influence on Paul as he'd egged the whole fight on. She was grateful for Dwayne stepping in and ending it before it got too bloody.

Shaking the thought away mentally she thought up another thing they could possibly do during the day. "There are some shops that close up during the night. Oh, and the museum closes its doors when the sun goes down too."

David looked at her like she'd grown another head, "A museum?"

Paul smiled and winked at her, "Nah not only would that bore us to death," he laughed as he glanced at David's smirking face, "It would also put me to sleep. Not hard to do in the morning anyways as I'm not a morning person."

Lydia nodded in understanding before making another suggestion, "Well, we could always meet sometime in the afternoon then."

"Paul's got work then." Marko answered, walking over forlorn at his loss. "Hey David-"

The leader stuck his hand into his coat pocket, but instead of money, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and grinned as the other realized he'd been played, "No I'm not giving you any more change."

That was all that he said before pulling out a cigarette and catching a lighter thrown his way by Dwayne without even looking and using it to light up.

How did he do that Lydia briefly wondered before realizing she was getting distracted and looked back at Paul, "Where do you work at?"

She was honestly very curious, and it made sense that the boys worked when they weren't around her. How else would they be able to eat out or afford the booze and smokes they did?

Paul briefly glanced at Marko over her head with a glare and the curly haired boy snickered, "That's not important. Are you hungry?"

She thought about prying further but stopped thinking maybe he was embarrassed. But why? Everyone had to work eventually. Maybe it was somewhere with a dress code, though. She couldn't imagine him in a McDonald's uniform- Well, now that she thought about it she could and it made her giggle a bit.

"What're you laughing about?" Paul asked and she shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

He gave her a look that clearly read 'I don't believe you.' Still, Marko started to complain about how he was starved and so the group head out and went to find a place to eat. Marko got to chose as he was the Pac-Man champion.

While eating, the boys goofed off and tossed fries at one another; it was nice if not a bit rowdy. People gave their table a wide berth and it wasn't only here; most people didn't get too close to them. It helped her belief of them being part of a motorcycle gang but there was also another thought that had been nagging at her for a while and tonight only made it harder to push away.

Paul's excuses for not seeing her during the day were suspicious. Why didn't he simply say he didn't wake up early and once he did it was straight to work? No, he gave excuse after excuse and it wasn't even him who told her about his job.

It made her skeptical and, if she didn't know better, the teenager would say that Paul and his friends were all vampires. But, of course, that was ridiculous and she hated that the thought had even crossed her mind.

Not only was it absurd, it was impossible.

A scream pierced the air causing her to jerk her head up and away from her nearly empty tray. Her eyes widened in fright and she dropped her soda onto the table. Vaguely, she heard Paul yell out and say some about his 'white pants' but that was background noise.

There in the middle of the fast food joint stood a creature straight out of her nightmares and he was tearing into the throat of a woman, his nails dug into the flesh of her arms creating horrible wounds. Then he pulled back from his meal and locked eyes with her.

His face was grotesque and terrifying and his mouth and fangs on full display as his tongue trailed along his lips and teeth. It laughed at her terror.

Not able to stand it any longer, she closed her eyes and covered her ears, trembling from head to foot and muttering to herself that it wasn't real.

Her arms being grabbed and pulled from her ears a moment later caused her to jerk and try and fight off whoever it was until a familiar voice reached her.

"Lydia! It's okay. You're okay…"

Her eyes opened and found Paul's worried ones and suddenly she felt sick.

"It's alright." He soothed again and she knew what she just saw had all been in her mind because he and everyone else would have reacted had it not been.

Embarrassed tears came to her eyes, but she willed them away and pulled away from Paul. She had to get away from him. From all of them because it wasn't just her table and friends who were staring.

What was wrong with her?

Quickly she stood up and made an excuse about cleaning up in the bathroom as she now felt some of her soda on her pants. Then she ran, only she didn't go to the bathroom, she left the restaurant mortified and wondering if she was losing her mind.

-

"What did you make her see?" Marko asked curiously as he and the others watched Paul take off out the door after her.

David smirked, "What makes you think I made her see anything?"

"Might have something to do with the glare Paul was aiming your way." Dwayne told him and David shrugged, "Paul always jumps to conclusions."

"So, you didn't mess with her mind then?" The youngest looking vampire asked.

"I didn't say that." He reached up and grabbed the cigarette from behind his ear and stuck his other hand into his pocket for his lighter before calmly lighting it.

Marko finished using the last of the towels to wipe up the spilt soda before looking into his leader's amused face. "Funny as it is to tease her, I don't think Paul's very happy about it."

"He'll get over it."

-

Paul caught up to her easily enough and despite her asking to be left alone he did just the opposite and stayed with her as she walked aimlessly until she told him she needed to go home.

"It's not even midnight yet."

"I promised Mom I'd be home at a reasonable hour." Lydia was glad to have a real excuse as she didn't think she could find the strength to lie right now.

"Okay, I'll take you home then."

Part of her wanted to argue but she didn't really have any other way and it was a long walk. Plus arguing meant talking and she didn't want to do that either so instead the girl nodded and quietly followed him to his bike.

Several times on the way there he looked like he might say something only to seem to think better of it and stay quiet. This only made her feel worse. Why couldn't she be normal?

Why did it look so real? Even when her brother's murder was still fresh in her mind her hallucinations weren't so real. The only other one that had seemed that real was that night on the beach, the night she met Paul.

-

The night had started off so well too. Now though, as Lydia silently clutched Paul around the waist during the ride home, she couldn't help but think at least it couldn't get any worse.

She should've known better than to think that; it could always get worse.

Walking back to her house after getting off of Paul's bike he followed her. It was kind of a tradition now only after a few nights. He'd drive her home but stop just far enough away that her mother wouldn't see his motorcycle and then the two would walk the rest of the way.

Only they usually had something to talk about. Now though, Lydia was too busy brooding to look at the boy beside her.

What was wrong with her?

She heard a sigh and glanced over only to meet Paul's gaze before he reached out and grabbed ahold of her hand which had been hanging limply by her side as the two walked. Lydia looked down at their intertwined fingers and briefly considered pulling away before glancing back up to see him looking up at the stars.

The two continued their walk in silence and just when she was starting to feel a little less like a total nutcase her eyes landed on a car she had never expected to see again and froze.

It was a 1985 red Camaro that had a personalized sticker colored in a dull yellow that the owner had told her was actually gold on the back window that read 'Future Miss America' in italics.

Paul had stopped when he felt her stall and looked quizzically at her, "What?"

She motioned to the car with their still joined hands, "Do you see a car there?"

For once she wanted to be told she was seeing things, that there was nothing there.

He looked at the car in confusion, "Yeah I see it. Why?"

Before she had a chance to answer her front door opened revealing a familiar face.

An excited squeal was the first thing she heard, and her stomach dropped as the other girl ran to her and practically tackled her in a tight hug. Lydia tensed and her eyes locked with her smiling mother's form who was also coming out to meet her but at a much slower pace.

"Surprise," Her mother said.

It was a surprise alright, the worst kind.

The other girl must have realized that she was not going to get a hug in return and so she let her go, "Did you miss me?"

No.

Her face pulled into her automatic fake smile that was created specifically for the girl in front of her and her consolers.

"It's certainly a surprise. What are you doing here Kim?" The other girl looked the same as the last time she saw her; pretty, petite, tan, long brown hair with dark eyes that she knew how to make pop with her eyeliner and eyeshadow (something she probably spent many hours perfecting).

Her complete opposite.

"Well, my parents are off doing their annual Christmas charity thing, but I thought it'd be more fun if this year I came and spent it with my best friend instead of a boring party like that. After all I missed you."

Sure, you did.

That's when Kim's attention turned to the boy beside her and instantly Lydia's tense body became even more so as the other girl's eyes roamed him appraisingly and even briefly stopped at their hands.

Lydia nearly jerked hers away if only to try and keep Kim from noticing but it was too late so instead she settled for mentally cursing herself for not getting Paul to leave the second she saw the familiar car.

"Hello, I'm Kimberly but you can call me Kim," The way she said 'you' made it sound as if she was granting him something special as if she didn't tell everyone to call her that, "and you are?"

She had backed up just enough to offer him her hand and look at him with her most seductive gaze. She was already flirting with her eyes. Lydia knew if she tried anything like that it would seem like she was trying to get something out of her eyes, but Kim had perfected it years before.

"Paul-" Lydia didn't take her eyes off of Kim as she removed her hand from his and interrupted, not wanting this to go any further.

With her mom a few feet away it wasn't likely, but knowing Kim anything was possible and if she could hint at Lydia's less than perfect sanity she would. And after tonight he might even believe her.

"He was just leaving, so let's go inside and catch up." Her hands clapped in front of herself with false enthusiasm.

Though Kim's attention was back on her, she could also feel Paul's eyes boring into the side of her head. Was he aware that she was being completely fake right now? Her smile didn't falter as her gaze drifted over to her mother.

If the woman who gave birth to her was fooled then the boy she'd only known for a couple of weeks shouldn't be able to read her, right?

Though maybe she was being too peppy. That was something she'd worry about later. As long as she could keep Kim away from Paul and the others while she was here everything would be alright.

Reaching out her arm, she grabbed the other girls' and Kim could barely contain her surprise at the action. Lydia had not voluntarily touched the other girl in years. She pulled the stunned girl away without looking back only calling out her quick 'see you later' before the two were a safe distance from Paul.

That's when Kim dropped the act as neither her mom nor Paul would be able to hear her, "What's wrong Lydia? Afraid I'll steal your boyfriend?"

She didn't say anything.

"Or maybe you just don't want him to know that you believe in fairy tales."

Lydia halted and dropped her arm as she stopped on the porch steps. She turned to look at the girl who had once been her best friend and realized she couldn't find anything of that girl in the other teenager.

"Vampires aren't fairy tales," Kim looked shocked that Lydia would actually stand up for herself, but she wasn't done yet, "so would you give it a rest already? I was a kid with an overactive imagination, I know what's real now and have for years."

Kim smirked, "Did getting a boyfriend give you a backbone?"

Lydia shook her head and didn't answer but instead asked, "Aren't you tired of using my childhood trauma against me?"

The other girl laughed. To any other person it may have been a melodic sound but it was truly a cruel sound.

"Trauma really?" She shook her head, "The only thing traumatic about back then was that you actually believed you saw anything. We both know you were fast asleep at home, safe in your very own bed when you're brother snuck out that night."

Lydia said nothing and the other smirked triumphantly and pushed past her letting her shoulder knock her on her way inside.

The fact that, not only did the other girl betray her confidence but, that she believed that Lydia had not even seen a thing that night might have hurt her once, but she was past that. She just did not care what Kim thought of her, but that didn't mean that the other girl couldn't hurt her any longer.

No, as long as she was here then she could spin her tales and try to get Lydia ostracized. If it was just the students at her school finding out she wouldn't worry about it. But if Kim convinced Paul or any of the other boys?

Lydia couldn't let that happen.

"Lydia?" Her mother's voice made her aware of her surroundings and the fact that she was still standing on the porch staring blankly at the front door.

"Yeah mom?" She tried her best to sound happy or at least not unhappy and the older woman didn't question her, so she must've succeeded at least a little.

"I know you have new friends, but you are glad to see Kim again, aren't you?"

No. "Of course."

Her mother's face lit up with a relieved smile, "Good. That's good, now I don't have to worry so much when you go out with your friends every night."

Lydia almost let her smile drop but caught herself, "Yeah… Well now that Kim's here I'm sure she'll want it to just be the two of us so I probably won't go out as much."

Even if that's exactly the opposite of what she wanted to do.

"Oh, there's no need for that. Kim told me she'd be delighted to meet your friends."

Of course, she did. "That's nice of her but I wouldn't want to-" The older woman shook her head and raised her hand cutting her next excuse off.

"Don't worry I checked it out with Paul before he left. He's such a nice boy, isn't he? Well, he said it was fine for her to join you all at the beach tomorrow."

Lydia had never wanted to kick Paul more in her life than in that moment.


End file.
